|
|
Article: Acetylsalicylic Acid
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Acetylsalicylic Acid
Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, see Figure 1) was introduced as an
analgesic
(pain-relieving agent) in the late nineteenth century by chemists at Bayer, a German pharmaceutical company. Acetylsalicylic acid is a
prodrug
and is transformed in the body to salicylate, the active form of the drug. Salicylates are also anti-inflammatory (i.e., prevent swelling and phenomena related to swelling associated with trauma or allergic response). Salicylates were initially isolated from white willow (
Salix alba
) bark, from which the name of the drug is derived. Indeed, ancient Greek physicians, notably
Hippocrates
and Dioscorides, suggested chewing on willow bark to ...